WELCOME TO THE FESH FAN CLUB HOMEPAGE!

This is likely the only remaining fansite of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons on the internet.  Sadly, this will be its final form due to 2007's turn of events.

Sean Fesh is a left-handed relief pitcher who used to play for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, the AAA affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.  Sean spent a short time with Scranton in 1998, the entire season in 1999, and most of the 2000 season before he was traded to Colorado Springs (Colorado Rockies AAA).  Sean returned to Scranton in 2005 and spent two months with the team.

This is a re-launch of our original website which we ran throughout the summer of '99 and into 2000.  I will try to remain faithful to the original intent of the website, a place to vent, have fun, and stay up to date on the favorite baseball team of our childhood.

As has been rumored, Sean delivers a wicked left-handed sidearm pitch selection much like the late great John Tudor.  I bet you wish you could do that!  In his first stint with the Barons, THE FESH was proud to wear number 66 (Although he wore #34 briefly in '98 on call-up from Reading).  The legend of the 66 is as follows:  Sean wore 66 in Phillies camp that spring.  When he learned that we would start the season at Scranton he decided that he wanted uniform number 99.  However, an unfortunate event transpired and he forgot to tell "them" that he wanted 99!  Since he had no quarrel or squabble with the Vietcong or the number 66, he decided to keep it and thus a legend was born.

To join the club, simply keep your eyes on Sean's exploits in organized ball, and get your butts in the seats at your local ballpark!  
GOOD LUCK and HAPPY FESHING!!

Behold:  The Unblemished Cathedral of the International League

Website Updated 1/19/08!

Updated Sean's 2007 and career stats and noticed that in the course of my September updates, I failed to actually link to the new guestbook that should hopefully remain on the site with some amount of reliability.  I'd love for visitors to the site to take a little time to leave a note, especially Red Barons memories.  Hopefully the site can live on as a monument to the Barons and those magical summers.

In September I improved the "Feature Film" section immensely by using some of the knowledge gained over the past few months and creating a higher quality version of the Fesh tribute movie, uploading it to Youtube and embedding it rather than forcing visitors to download a clunky .avi file.  Be sure to check that out!

This edition will serve as a wrap-up to the Red Barons as we knew them as well as an update of what Sean has been up to the last two summers.  Lou Lucca was voted into the 'left margin' of fame (no doubtedly thanks to multiple votes from Donnie), the Barons fulfilled the Every Seven Years prophecy, and I finally made it to Ottawa only to see what the real casualties of the affiliation swap were.  Sean's line from 2006 and thusfar in 2007 is updated and in an odd twist of fate, Lou Lucca is once again a teammate of the Fesh.  On the right is Sean's 2005 home jersey.  I managed to acquire it in December of 2005.  Thanks to Mike Cummings for pulling it out of general inventory.

The Red Barons Became the Yankees...
I really didn't see that coming.

It looks like I had the privilege of eating a large shitburger since last March when the hot topic was the impending first affiliation switch in franchise history and the uninformed panic that ensued.  Comparing the last webpage update where I made a lot of boisterous claims to the events of the past 18 months has revealed to me that I was wrong on one VERY important count.  

"Anyone who thinks the Yankees or Mets would move their teams is living in fantasy land."

-Bob Williams | March 5th, 2006

It is old news now at this point.  The Mets threw their hat into the ring, but simply couldn't compete with the Yankee brand.  Fans devoured the initial announcement, buying up season ticket packages and reverting the lower level box seats to their initial status as season-ticket only sections.  The team name was announced and merchandise flew off the shelves.  The county signed a Devil's deal with Mandalay Baseball Properties to manage the team.  Ticket prices rose.  The bleachers were removed and replaced with more pricey lower level box seats.  The bullpens were turned into corporate entertainment in the guise of 'field level' boxes.  The turf was ripped up and replaced with a more bourgeois than utilitarian natural grass surface to placate the new parent club, boxing out other users of the county-owned multi-purpose stadium.  And yet the brainwashed fans arrived in droves, averaging over 8800 fans per game, a franchise record.

So much for Baltimore being the logical choice to succeed the Phillies 18-year run as one of the first proximity-based AAA relationships.  Apparently a two-hour car ride wasn't close enough, nor was a major league quality clubhouse good enough for Philadelphia.

So at this point, what can I say?  I am in a small minority who was unhappy with what happened.  Yankee fans are unlikely to understand childhood attachment to an underdog.  Luckily, I can get behind the hometown team of my new hometown, the Rochester Red Wings and their ever evolving underdog parent club in Minnesota.  I follow the Wings through the local paper and attend about six games per year.  I've seen Sean return with Richmond and the Barons.  I was the only Red Baron jersey in the crowd during last year's playoff washout.  I even went once this year to cheer against the SWB Evil Empire.  I keep another eye on the Syracuse Chiefs as they harbor the Toronto Blue Jays of tomorrow (and too often yesterday).  Toronto is the closest major league team to Rochester and I've followed the Jays with a fervor since 2004 only to see them underachieve each year.  None of it is the same though.

Before this starts looking too much like a blog, its time to move on.

Sean is a Bridgeport Bluefish

Sean returned to the Independent Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League for the 2006 season and was a key contributor on a team that lost in the league finals to Lancaster, a team led by former Red Baron centerfielder Reggie Taylor.

Sean appeared in 51 games for the 'Fish, recording three victories against three defeats in 45 1/3 innings.  He struck out 42 while only walking 17 and posted a respectable 3.57 ERA.  We tried to get out there for a game last Labor Day weekend, but we were rained out by pesky hurricane remnants.

Sean continues to sport #28 for the Bluefish in 2007.  He is joined in Bridgeport by former Red Barons Matt Beech and amazingly enough, Lou Lucca.  Sean missed a large portion of the middle of the season on the disabled list, but is now back and is continuing to perform well in the AL.  As of September 4th, he has pitched 18.1 innings for the Bluefish, allowing only seven earned runs and less than a hit per inning in 10 appearances.

The Sunday Times...GET THE PAPER!

That line from the Scranton newspaper's late 90's jungle brings us to the August 1st, 1999 edition of the Sunday Times (which is now officially called the Scranton Times-Tribune, can you believe that?).  Baseball columnist Randy Yanoshak, who has since moved to Yuma, AZ, published his long-awaited article on our efforts.  The article explains the origins of the club along with their contributions to what eventually became a division championship ballclub.  Click to read about "The Life of the Party" at Lackawanna County Stadium.

2006 SWB INSTA RECORD

Updated Septmeber 4, 2007 - 9:06 PM